This invention relates to a guide rail, mounted in a housing, which guides a circuit board to a desired position in the housing and supports the board therein.
A conventional guide rail basically comprises a rectangular guide member for guiding a printed circuit board to a desired position in a housing and a fixing member for securing the guide member at the position, both of which are formed of conductive metal. The guide member includes guide fingers which guide the printed circuit board and form an electrical connection with a conductive pattern on the board. The fixing member is provided with a frame in the longitudinal direction for supporting the guide member. The frame slidingly receives the guide member from one end to accommodate the guide member therein. The fixing member containing the guide member is then secured to the housing by suitable means, such as screws. Then the printed circuit board is inserted into the guide member so as to be guided to the desired position in the housing. When the board is set in the guide rail, the guide fingers of the guide member contact the conductive pattern on the board. Since the guide member and the fixing member are made of conductive metal, a connection between the conductive pattern and a conductive portion of the housing is attained. Therefore, it is possible to connect a ground pattern on the printed circuit board, for example, with the conductive portion of the housing via the guide rail so as to reduce the noise generated in a power source line of the printed circuit board.
However, such a prior-art guide rail for a printed circuit board has several problems. For example, a means for supporting the printed circuit board may connect with the guide rail by a casual contact therebetween. Further, the operator may carelessly touch the components of the guide rail upon securing the fixing member to the housing which causes corrosion of the components. Moreover, if the securing means to fix the guide rail to the housing becomes loose for some reason, such as a vibration caused during transportation, disconnection between the guide rail and the housing may occur, and thus a stable connection therebetween cannot be realized.